Cinematographic machine



C. E. CARTER.

/CINEMATOGRAPHIC MACHINE., APPLICATION FILED MMIII. 1920.

1412509- Patented Apr. 11, 1922,

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ClNEMATOGRAPHlC MACHINE.

APPLICATION HLED MAY 10. 1920.

1,412,509. t Patent-ed Apr. 11, 1922'.

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CINEMATOGRAPHIC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED MAYIo, 1920.

l 1,412,509. Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

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Y UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

' CLARKE. CARTER, OF MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO ALADDIN CINEMA C0. INC., OF MALONE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION F NEW YORK.

CINEMATOGRAPHIC MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. 1931131117661 A1313 11, 1922. Original application rfiled November 5, 1919, Serial No. 335,953.

Divided and this application filed May 10,v 1920. Serial No. 380,147.

To all whom-t may concern.

vBe it known that I, CLARK E. CARTER, a subject of the King ot' Great Britain, residing at Montreal, Province ofQuebec, Canada, have invented cer-tain new and useful Improvements in Cinematographic Machines; and I do herebydeclare that the tollowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription of vthe invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine. l

The present invention relates to cinematographic machines and is the continuation of my application iiled November 5, 1919, Serial Number 335,953. Y

It is the purpose of the present invention to providea film feeding mechanism for such moving picture machines whereby the iilm will be drawn through the machine in a more positive and eiiicient Amanner 4without break-V ing or otherwise injuring the ilm.

A further object of the invention is to provide an escapementv Yt'or such film feeding mechanism whereby each picture ot the lilm will'be intermittently and quickly advanced tothe exposure opening andmomentarily retained Ain this position whereby a much cleaier picture will be projected upon the screen. l

" Other objects of this invention will appear hereinafter and it consists of va motordriven mechanism which is operatively connected to the tilm feeding sprocketsV of the machine, a beater roller operatively connected to such mechanism through an escapement, means for holding" the iilm taut as 'it vpasses through the exposure opening and other combination, formation and arrangement of parts as will hereinafter be more y'particularly described and pointed out in the appended claims.

' In the accompanying drawings I Figure l, is a. detail vertical section through the machine head of the cinematograph apparatus showing the tilm gate in sideelevatiou;

K Figure'2,'is a similar detail section showing the tilingate in vsection taken on the line 2;-2 or' Figure 3; Y

Figure 3, isla detail section through the machine head taken at right angles to Figure l showing the Vtilm gate in front elevation,y v Y Figure il, is an enlarged detail view framing device;

ot` the the machine head and line 5`5 of Figure 6;

Figure 6, is a vertical sectioii through the gear casing taken on the line (36 of Figure 5;

Figure 7, is a vertical section taken on the line 7-7 or Figure 5;

Figure 8, is a detail section view through the gear casing illustrating one position kot the csoapement; and,

Figure 9, is a similar view looking at the opposite side of the escapement mechanism.

Reference now being had to the drawings wherein like and corresponding parts are designated by like reference characters throughout the several views, l A portion of the machine head of the moving picture machine is represented by the numeral l through which is t'ed the film 2 carrying the pictures. This iilm is fed from the upper magazine 3, over the upper sprocket wheel il, through the. film gate 5, over the beater roller 6, then by the framing roller 7, over the lower Ysprocket wheel S and then to the film receiving magazine. The rays of light from the lamphouse project through the opening' 9 in the machine head, through the iilm, then through the iilm gate and then through the lens holder l0. AArranged at one side of the machine head l is a casing ll having arranged therein a suitable driving mechanism for driving the sprocket wheels il and 8 and also the beater rollei` G whereby the tilm will be drawn through the machine.

' Theupper sprocket 2l is mounted upon a shaft l2, one end of which extends through the casing ll and is journaled therein. The lower sprocket wheel 8 is carried by the sli-att i8 which also has one end extending through the casing ll and joui-nailed therein. A shaft ll is mounted in the casing ll aud the bearuig i5 carried by the bracket 16 which is suspended within the. casing li. Keyed to this shattll is a pulley-Hy wheel 1T over which passes a suitable belt or strap 18, the latter being ogrieratively connected Vto a motor or other means for rotating the pulley 1T whereby the film feeding mechanism will be oropelled. Keyed to the imier end or" the shaft 14 is a pinion 19 and this pinion is in constant mesh with the gear` wheels and 2l mounted upon the respective sprocket wheel Shafts 12 and 13.

The beater roller G is carried by one end ot the arm or bar 22 and the opposite end of this bar 22 is pivotally supported upon a cross shaft 23. A link 24 is pivotally connected to this bar 22 and eccentrically connected as at 25 to the pinion 19 so that as the shaft 14 is rotated the gears 2O and 21 will also be rotated and an oscillating movement will be given to the bar 22 whereby the beater roller will also oscillate through an arcuate slot 26 liormedwvithin the casings 1 and 11. n v

rl`he main driving'shai't 14 is provided with a wormgear 27 and meshing therewith is a gear 23 carried by the shutter shaft- 29. llhis shutter shait 29 is joui-nailed within the casing 11 and carries a shutter 30.

l The lower sprocket shaft 13 is provided vwith a pulley 3l over which passes a suitable springv belt 32 and 'the latter being` provided ior propelling the film reel arranged within the lower receiving magazine.

Keyed to this sprocket shaft 13 is an e:- capement wheel or disk This disk 33 is provided with a plurality oi radially extending recesses 34. rlhe bea-ter arm 22 is provided with late-rail y extending pin 35 which is adapted to ride upon the outer periphery olf the disk 33 and drop within each recess 34 whereby the shaft 13 may momentarily be retained against rotationA rEhe gear 21 is loosely mounted npon the shaft 13 and is provided with a laterally extending pin 3G which extends through an arcuate slot 37 formed within a disk 38 and the latter being keyed to the sha'lft 13 and arranged adjacent to the gear 2l. Se-

cured to one tace of this disk 33 as at 39 is a leaf spring 40 and the outer tree end oli 'this leaf spring presses against the pin so that when the gear 21 is rotated the pin 3' will press the sprin T 4() thereby carrying the disk and the shaft 13 with the gear wheel.

Y From the forego' ig'it will be apparent` that when the shaii4 is set in motion the gears 2O and 21 will be rotated and the beater arm 22 will also be oscillated. is the gear 20 revolves the upper sprocket wheel 4 is carried therewith and likewise when the gea-r 2l rotates a rotary movement will be transmittet` to the shaft 13. As the pinion 19 rotates it will draw the bar 22 upwardly to the position shown in vFigure 6 whereby the beater roller will be moved to its uppermost position torengaging` the iilni and upon the downward stroke ot the arm the beater roller will draw the hlm through they film gate. vThe stroke of thebeater is so calculated with the length of the pictures upon the tilm that upon the downward stroke of the beater Voi the arrow as shown in Figure 9 whereby the tension of the spring 40will be increased due to the pin 36 pressing thereagainst and the disk 38 being held stationary as it is also keyed to the shaft Upon the upward stroke ot the bar 22 the escapement disk 33 will be 'released and the spring 40 will cause the shaft 13 to turn quickly and again catch up with the gear wheel 21 so that the lower sprocket wheel 8 will be again rotated for drawing that portion of the iilm which has passed by the beater roller. l i

In the meanwhile the iilm while passing through the film gate should be held taut and to so retain the ilni without breaking or otherwise injuring the saine I have provided a iilm gate as shown. This ilm gate comprises a main section 41 having an opening 42 which is adapted to register with the open` ing 9 of the machine head and one end ot' this section 41 is pivotally supported upon a shaftf43 carried by one of the side walls or' the machine head. An auxiliary trarne 44 is carried by this main frame having an opening therein adapted to register with the openings 9 and`42. This auxiliary irame 44 is provided with lugs 45 which extend through the marginal recesses formed within the main frame 41 and the pins 46 extend through these lugs 45 i'or'locking the auxiliary iframe to the main frame. Secured to the outer :tace of the main frame by means oiB the set screws 47 are the leaf springs 48 and the outer tree ends of these leat' springs press against the lugs 45 for extending an even pressure upontheopposite ends of the auxiliary frame Surrounding the opening 9 is a guide 49 over which passes the ilm 2 and carried by this guide 49 is a latch 50 which is adaptedtoengage the main frame 41 for looking the gate in position` From the construction it is obviousrthatwhen the gate is in this locked position the auxiliary frame 4l will press against the film thereby holding the film taut and at the saine time permitting the film to be drawn through the gate without injury.

The framing roller 7 is supported by one end of a lever 51 and this lever is pivotally supported as at 52. A leaf spring 53 is carried by this lever and rests against the bottom ot the casing '1. A set screw 54 is mounted in the casing 1 and its inner end presses against the projection 55 carried by the lever 5l so that the operator may by Y mentarily retained within the film gate and quickly drawn from the film gate whereby a clear picture may be projected upon the screen.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is Y l. In a moving picture machine comprising a pairrof feed sprockets, shafts for supporting said feed sprockets, gears carried by said shafts, a driven pinion meshing with said gears, a beater roller operatively connecting to said pinion and means for momentarily holding one of said feed sprockets against rotation.

2. A moving picture machine comprising feed sprockets and a beater roller, a driving mechanism comprising a main driven shaft, means operatively connecting said main driven shaft with said feed sprockets whereby the feed sprockets will be rotated, means for intermittently retaining one 0f said feed sprockets against rotation and means for operatively connecting said main driven shaft to said beater roller, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. A moving picture machine comprising a film feeding mechanism consisting of feed sprockets and a beater roller, an upper and lower shaft supporting said feed sprockets, gear wheels carried by said shafts, a main shaft, a pinion carried by said main shaft and meshing with said gears, an arm connected to said beater roller, a link connecting said beater arm to said pinion, a disk keyed to said lower shaft, a pin carried by said beater arm and adapted to travel upon the outer periphery of said disk and a flexible connection between said lower shaft and the gear wheel carried thereby substantially as and for the purpose specified.

4. A moving picture machine comprising in combination a film feeding mechanism comprising sprocket wheels, a driving mechanism, said driving mechanism comprising a driven shaft, a pinion carried by one end of said driven shaft, gear wheels operatively connected to said sprocket wheels and adapted to mesh with said pinion, a pivotally supported lever, a film beater carried by said lever, a link connecting said lever with said pinion, a shutter shaft, and a worm and gear connection between said shutter shaft and said driven shaft.

5. A moving picture machine comprising in combination a main casing, a film feeding mechanism arranged within said main casing, comprising a pair of sprocket wheels and a beater roller, an auxiliary casing carried by said main casing, shafts extending through said casing and having said sprockets secured thereto, a driven shaft having a portion thereof journaled within said auxiliary casing, a fly wheel pulley secured to said driven shaft and extending exteriorly of said casing, a pinion carried by the inner end of said driven shaft, gear Wheels arranged Within said auxiliary casing and adapted to mesh with said pinion, one of said gear wheels being keyed to one of said sprockets, an escapement mechanism connecting the other of said gears to one of said sprocket shafts, a shutter shaft journaled within said auxiliary casing and extending at right angles to said driven shaft, and means for operatively connecting said shutter shaft with said driven shaft.

6. In a moving picture machine comprising in combination a film feeding mecha- Vnism including a sprocket Wheel, a driving mechanism comprising a continuously driven gear wheel, an escapement mechanism arranged for operativel connecting said gear wheel with said sprocket wheel, said escapement mechanism consisting of a disk carried by said sprocket wheel, a leaf spring secured to said disk, a pin carried by said gear wheel and adapted to be engaged by said leaf spring, a notched disk connected to said sprocket wheel, and means operatively connected to said gear wheel for engaging said notched disk, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CLARK E. CARTER. 

